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When we look back to February of this year, the Maryland Charm were the first team to be knocked out of the Championship Series. A few short months after that, they were heading into the first-ever full season of the WLL, and their worth was questioned. But it was never a question within their own locker room.
We doubted Maryland. Combining their struggles to win at the Championship Series and many of their newly drafted players missing from training camp in April, our Power Rankings continued to list the Charm fourth of four teams leading into the start of the season.
But who doesn’t love a good “prove people wrong” story?
The Maryland Charm were crowned the inaugural and 2026 Women’s Lacrosse League champions after an emphatic 16-13 win over the California Palms on Saturday in Philadelphia.
If we look back at post-Championship Series press conference statements by Charm star midfielder Ally Kennedy and lead goalkeeper Caylee Waters, this inaugural championship run starts to make sense.
“Maryland Charm will be back,” Waters said at the time. “We are gonna frickin’ win. I have no doubt. I know what this team is capable of.”
Though Maryland hadn’t had the most successful Championship Series, both players spoke with a ton of emotion about how much the game of lacrosse means to them and the opportunity to play for something bigger than themselves. With those intangible motivations in mind and a different discipline to prepare for, Kennedy and Waters set forth with a chip on their shoulder as the regular season began in May.
Kennedy mentioned before the summer season that “this [Maryland] team was built for the field game” as opposed to the Sixes discipline played in the Championship Series. Her statement was confirmed in Saturday’s Championship postgame interview with Dana Boyle, with Kennedy noting that she “just had a feeling and [she’s] glad [she] was right.”
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Putting together a championship-level team that thrives in the 10-v-10 format relies heavily on how each part of the machine operates together as one. Maryland’s 4-1 season and Championship trophy backed Kennedy’s statement up in full.
The star power of this unit went unseen to many lacrosse fans, broadcasters and journalists alike. No, they don’t have Izzy Scane or Charlotte North on their roster. But the Charm have Sam Apuzzo, one of our game’s most decorated winners who will draw the No. 1 defensive matchup every game. They have Sydni Black, Ashley Humphrey and Cassidy Spilis, who have proven time and again that their strengths are exactly what the Charm need to complete an offense that dodges, feeds and finishes, respectively.
Black was a matchup nightmare on Saturday, rightfully earning Championship MVP honors. Maryland’s midfield is stacked with the best rookie in the game, Brigid Duffy, and the fastest, most competitive middie there is in Kennedy. Add in Livy Rosenzweig to the draw, who went 51% on the season, and they make up a line that’s going to create possessions and cause havoc.
What stands out most about this Charm team compared to the others, and may have even been the difference-maker this season, is their veteran leadership.
Waters graduated from North Carolina in 2017, and she brings an energy that unites any team she plays for. The Charm benefited greatly from the combination of her hot streaks in the cage and her fun-spirited leadership. Alex Holman and Megan Douty-Marino graduated from the University of Maryland in 2013 and 2015, respectively, making them two of the oldest players in the league.
But older doesn’t mean washed up in the slightest. Holman posted a career day in the Championship game with a hat trick and a huge caused turnover, Waters had eight saves in the first half, and Douty-Marino came up with a few key ground balls and helped immensely in the defensive game plan. Veteran players like Waters, Douty-Marino and Holman brought a unique wisdom, perspective and level-headed composure that other teams might not have.
Charm head coach Emily Parros has played with and against many of the players on her roster, including the three mentioned above. Parros played on the USA national team, winning a gold medal in 2022, and in other professional leagues that existed prior to the start of the WLL.
She knows these players for what their strengths are on the field, but also understands what makes each of them tick as athletes and humans. Her connection to her players is what helped her and her staff bring out the best in each of them in a 10-v-10 setting. She empowered them to play to each of their strengths, emphasizing a team-first mentality and reminding them to stay grounded and grateful within the big moments.
Her pregame speech ahead of the Charm’s season-opening overtime win over the Palms at Loyola in May was one of the most inspiring of the season, motivating the team to “think about [their] 10-year-old selves” and embrace the opportunity to play in a professional atmosphere the WLL has provided. She spoke about “embracing the good, the bad, the ugly,” urging her players to “fight for each other” and not “sacrifice the gift” by giving anything less than their best.
A speech that would motivate any one of us sitting at home was the spark to a Maryland season that would emulate every bit of what Parros said – a team full of individuals that put one another first, celebrated the little things within the big moments and never gave up on a challenge, no matter what the scoreboard or the outside forces were saying.
The Maryland Charm are the inaugural winners of the WLL Championship trophy, and it took a special buy-in from every single one of them to prove the outsiders wrong and make that dream a reality from within.
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